Crispy Oven-Fried Tilapia

I have been trying to have us eat fish more often.  But I'm not great at seafood dishes, but I hope to get better someday.  I was pursuing my cookbooks and came along this one from Better Homes & Garden.  It sounded delicious & I was super pleased with the result.  I will definitely make this more often, it's simple, has plenty of flavor & crunch.

4 tilapia fillets
1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. flour
1/2 - 2/3 c. regular Panko crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. Old Bay garlic & herb seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 Tbl. butter, melted

1.  Place milk in a shallow dish, flour in another shallow dish.  In a third dish, combine panko crumbs, cheese & spices.  Add melted butter to panko-cheese-spices dish & mix until well combined.
2.  Dip fish in milk; coat with flour.
3.  Dip again in milk, then in crumb mixture to coat all sides.  Place fish on a greased baking sheet.
4.  Bake, uncovered in a 450 degree oven for 4 - 6 minutes per side until fish begins to flake when tested.

Baked Chicken Fajitas

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet!  I've made it about half a dozen times and each time it's so yummy and everyone raves about it.  It's a very simple, tasty dish that is easy to throw together in the evenings.  My current tactic is to have Zak prep the veggies, since I'm not a fan of cutting onions or peppers.  He has it done by the time I'm home from work, I throw everything into a big pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Simple and delicious, makes a ton and is great for leftovers!  The original recipe can be found here, below is what I've modified for us. 

1 - 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 onion, sliced
1 (total) bell pepper, seeded & sliced (I usually do 1/3 from a red, orange/yellow and green to give it a variety of color & flavor)
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. taco seasoning

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13" baking dish.
2.  Mix together chicken, tomatoes, peppers and onion in the dish.
3.  In a small bowl, combine the oil and spices.  Drizzle over the chicken & vegetables and toss to coat.
4.  Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

We usually get about 9-10 servings out of this!  Sorry there is no picture for now, maybe I will add one later!

Turkish Red Lentil Soup

My mother-in-law made this fabulous soup while we were in Connecticut, for the annual 'Bethlehem dinner' on Christmas Eve.  I fell in love with the delicious flavors of the soup and asked for the recipe when we returned back home.  She sent me the recipe (from Whole Foods Market) and the only variation I made was to use some chicken broth along with the vegetable broth; it turned out phenomenally well and I will be sure to keep this in rotation. It's very easy to make and is a good, flavorful, vegetarian soup that is enjoyable with warmed pita bread or by itself.

1 1/3 c. (about 8 oz.) red lentils, picked through & rinsed
7 c. vegetable broth (I used 4 c. vegetable broth, 3 c. chicken broth)
1 large onion, diced
1-2 large carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbl. tomato paste
1 tsp. cumin
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1.  In a large pot, combine lentils, broth, onion, carrot(s), garlic, tomato paste, cumin and cayenne.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are very tender and lentils begin to fall apart (about 25 minutes).
2.  Remove pot from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is creamy but not completely pureed.  Add salt and serve with warmed pitas.

Taco Seasoning

I have seen a lot of recipes out there for homemade taco seasoning.  I figure I might as well give it a shot.  Having Winco in town makes life so wonderful, because of the bulk spices.  I love it!  I used a few different recipes and came up with this.

1 Tbl. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Makes about 7 1/2 tsp.  Use about 3 tsp. for 1 lb. meat + 1/3 c. water, boil then simmer 5 min. for quick, delicious taco meat!

I plan on filling this up. I don't have a picture of it, but I wrote up the recipe and taped it to the jar!

Refrigerator Pickles

We got about a dozen + cucumbers from Zak's grandparents with the purpose of pickling them at home. I tried to find a few recipes that would be easy enough, and this one was the winner. I would definitely recommend at least doubling the spice mixture, because we found that it only filled about 2 and a half jars. But it might be because we were unsure of how much the cucumbers would shrink, and we did five jars when we could've stuffed four and been fine. Anyways, having the extra spice mixture was better in the long run, because we poured it over some freshly sliced cucumbers and ate them after a few minutes (when we were in Seattle, we went to a Thai place where they had fresh pickles and thought it'd be easy enough to do, ours tastes almost like the restaurants'!).

A few days later, we decided to try this recipe with spear-cut cucumbers and no onions, and they turned out really well. We also played around with adding garlic to one jar, minced garlic to the spice mixture, and everything turned out really great. We have about 9 jars of pickles in the fridge now, so come over and eat some with us!

6 c. cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 c. onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. white vinegar

*4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced - optional*

4 - 6 pint jars, washed, boiled, etc.

1. Layer the cucumbers and onions in a glass container.

2. Mix the spices, sugar and vinegar together in a saucepan, heat until sugar as melted.

3. Pour over the cucumbers and onions.

4. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for about 48 hours before serving.

Zak did a great job with the cucumbers!

Zak was so cute, he wanted to do 'experiments' with the layering, etc. The first one: 50/50 (cukes, onions), 2nd: more onions, 3rd: more cucumbers, 4: added in garlic, 5: stuffed it really full. You can tell we were unsure of how much to put in the jars.

yum yum yum!

Enchiladas

I love the enchiladas that my family makes. A few years ago, when my brother, cousin and some friends were over for Sunday dinner, I tried to make them. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned, and I ended up turning them into a casserole, layered like lasagna. It tasted good, but kind of scarred me, and I didn't really want to try them again for a long time.

I conquered my fears last month, and made near-perfect enchiladas! They rolled perfectly and everything. Yesterday I made some for the guys as they were working on the car, and they did not come out as I had hoped (the tortillas were a huge pain in the butt), but still, delicious. I realized I haven't updated this blog in like, two months, so I felt I needed to share some recipes. Here is the enchilada one.

Filling:

1 lb. hamburger, cooked with 1 chopped onion (do not drain, loses the flavor)

2 - 3 c. grated cheese

1 can chopped black olives

salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 - 2 tsp. chili powder

3 - 4 c. water

1. Mix oil, flour, salt and chili powder over medium heat, like making a white sauce. When it starts to bubble, add in the water, slowly. Bring to a boil.

2. Dip tortillas in hot sauce, fill with meat, cheese, olives, roll up and secure with a toothpick (or two, or three, depending on how the tortilla cooperates).

3. If desired, sprinkle with extra cheese and sauce before baking at 350-degrees for 25 - 30 mins.

Makes 12 - 14, depending on how packed you fill them. Oh, and we have always used those small, corn tortillas, so I'm not sure how many they make with larger, ones. Zak wants me to try it with a flour tortilla sometime, so we'll see.

Spaghetti

This recipe comes from my family cookbook, courtesy of my Aunt Karri. I just modified it a little to our tastes and it was delicious! I grew up having Prego (which I love and is great, don't get me wrong), but I wanted to try my hand at making a more traditional sauce. Zak loved it (always a good sign), and I will probably make this more often in the future. Enjoy with garlic bread and salad, which is what we did!

1/2 lb. ground beef (the original recipe calls for 1 lb., but I figured we didn't need that much meat)
3/4 onion (original recipe calls for 2, but I used a pretty large onion), diced
1 large can stewed tomatoes (I used Italian style)
1 can tomato paste + 1 can water
1/2 tsp. basil (I used two large leaves from our plant)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. sugar
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Brown meat with diced onions.
2. Add all other ingredients.
3. Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.

simple & delicious, yum!